Geneva, Milan and Turin offer excellent sightseeing and museums. The Aosta Valley is spectacular in itself and features one of the best collections of castles in Italy, as well as excellent Roman ruins in Aosta, the capital city.

On January 30-31, the Feast of St. Orso is held in Aosta. It is one of the largest crafts fairs in Italy, with fantastic wood carvings and other handicrafts.

During Carneval, the town of Ivrea is one of the wildest places to be in Italy. The residents are decked out in cos-tumes reminiscent of Star Wars. They participate in the Battle of the Oranges, which features a castle defended by the bad guys being assaulted by the good guys who hurl over a ton of oranges during the siege.

A sports center (0165.844096) is open from 10 a.m. to midnight daily with tennis and squash courts, ice skating, fitness club, curling, indoor golf and a climbing wall.

Other activities in Courmayeur include snowbiking, dogsledding, paragliding, snowshoeing, heliskiing and heliboarding, golfing in the snow, archery, riding and fishing.

The valley also boasts a casino in St. Vincent. Milan, in addition to its sights, features La Scala, the largest opera house in Italy and one of the greatest opera companies in the world.